SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A lifetime in baseball brings many family sacrifices, and for longtime Giants coach Ron Wotus that meant never seeing his mother on her birthday.
Until Tuesday, when he coordinated his scouting trip to see San Francisco's Double-A affiliate — the Richmond Flying Squirrels — around his mom's 87th birthday in Colchester, Connecticut.
Giavanna “Jean” Wotus celebrated with 62-year-old Ron for the first time since his high school days. He shared a special photo.
“That’s what this game does to you. She hasn’t been with me out here on her birthday, either,” he said of Jean visiting the Bay Area. “Not very often all three kids are together. It’s been a long time for me to be here on her birthday.”
The longest-tenured coach in franchise history, Wotus in 2021 completed his 24th season on the Giants' major league staff as both a bench coach and third base coach — having started in 1998 under manager Dusty Baker then later with Felipe Alou, Bruce Bochy and Gabe Kapler.
Wotus, in his 36th year overall within the organization, now serves as special assistant to baseball operations — his second season in the role.
Following the festivities, it was back to work: Wotus will head to see four Squirrels games at Hartford.
San Francisco ace Logan Webb had heard from Wotus how much being there for Jean's birthday meant after all these years.
“That's amazing,” Webb said. “My parents have the same birthday and I don't remember the last time I was with them on their birthday. There's always a game I feel like every year or we've been the road. So it's tough, right, you want to spend these special moments with them. It just goes to show since high school, Wo, it's tough you don't get to spend it with your mom or your close ones. It's really cool he was able to do that.”
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